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Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

Let the show go on M.K. Raina says arrogance can be both good and bad

The first movie he acted in was in 1972, 27 Down with Rakhee. He was most recently seen in Taare Zameen Par. Enjoying a leisurely session at Radisson MBD Hotel Noida, Raina floats down the past and picks up a memory or two. While “actors in Bombay prostrate for a role,” Raina has never bowed to Bollywood. Having worked with Mrinal Sen, Kumar Shahni, Mani Kaul among others, he refused to audition for Aamir Khan. But he does concede that while on the sets he was very impressed by Khan’s professionalism and expertise. “There were so many children running around. But the atmosphere was completely relaxed. Aamir was down to earth while being in control,” he recounts.

A 1970 graduate from the National School of Drama, Raina has been dedicated to the creative. At the recent 10th Bharat Rang Mahotsav, he directed Prayog in the English production “Stay Yet Awhile”. Based on Sabyasachi Bhattacharya’s “The Mahatma and the Poet”, the play is an exploration of the relationship between Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore. Through a series of letters it illuminates the intellectual jousting and fond respect between the two best minds. The director believes that the play is of special significance today because of the “deterioration of the political class.”

Having worked in 14 languages, Raina usually works with the Indian tongue. But he says with a revealing smile, “There was the question of whether to do this in English or Hindi. But these are chiselled texts. It’s like poems to each other. It would not have been possible to translate them.”

The actors introduce themselves at the start of “Stay yet Awhile”, set like a documentary. Raina explains the technique. “I made it clear that we are not going to imitate these icons. That would be ridiculous. But gradually the audience starts to believe that they are seeing Tagore and Gandhi. That is the magic of it.”

But to Raina, theatre is more than magic. It is our traditions. It is the only therapy. Having worked with regional theatre from “Andhra Pradesh to Leh”, this activist has used theatre to preserve the past and to alleviate the present. A Kashmiri by birth, he still works in his home state. His family had to leave in the nineties because of the Kashmir conflict. “It was very difficult,” he says simply. To the surprise of others, he has not been deterred and continues to work there. In July last year, he spent a few months in Akingaam, Kashmir. The area is famous for its social satires called Bhand Pather. With the turmoil and unrest in the state the tradition has all but perished. Raina and his team of theatre resource persons worked with a group of youths to revive it. After living and working with them and building a foundation of trust, they staged a play. “The entire hill was filled with people. It was tremendous,” he says with twinkling eyes.

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